Vending apparatus.



Y A.y R. WBTHERLY.

VENDING APPARATUS. ArvPLloATIjoN FILED 0011.25. 1900.

Patented 111311111911.

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col//nsesf fig A. R.' WETHERLY.

VBNDING APPARATUS.-

APPLIGATION FILED 001.25. 1909.

Si N Patent-,ea Mar.14,1911. I

A. 11. WETHERL'Y., VBNDING' APPARATUS.

APPLIoAT-Ion FILED' oo'ms. 1,909.

Patented 11ar.14,1911.

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TINTTED STATES PATENT OFF ALBERT ROWDEN WETHERLY, OF CROYDON, ENGLAND..

VENDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 25, 1909.

Serial No. 524,333.

and late of 26 Ash Grove, Hackney, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus or machines for deliveringv articles in exchange for a coin and has for its object to so devise machines of `this character that light luncheons composed of cold viands such as fish, fowl, fruit or the like can be contained in the machine in such manner as to be readily visible to a would-be purchaser and capable of being delivered after the insertion of the requisite coin or coins, the said luncheons being arranged in trays which can be taken away from the machine by the purchaser and which are composed of such inexpensive but attractive material that the same can be discarded after use.

According to this invention the trays or boxes containing the said luncheons are composed of papier mch or other suitable light and inexpensive material which will not detrimentally affect the viands and these trays or boxes are arranged in the machine one above the other, the portion of the machine above the topmost tray or box being provided with a glazed opening through which the said tray or box and its contents can be inspected. The portion of the machine adjacent to the topmost tray, preferably the front portion, may be hinged or otherwise adapted to open by the movement of a handle after the inserted coin has moved a suitable detaining mechanism, to allow the said tray or box with its contents to be pushed forward onto a suitable shelf or the like by the continued movement of the handle. Upon releasing the aforesaid handle the movable portion of the casing returns to its initial closed and locked position. The elevating mechanism for raising the trays ,or boxes containing the luncheons can now again be brought into operation, thus bringing the top tray or box in a position to be withdrawn when a coin is again inserted and the handle actuated.

The said machine can obviously be used in connection with articles other than viands,

and the outer surfaces of the machine may be used for advertisement or other purposes.

In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, I will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Patented Mar. 14, 1911. Y

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the general arrangement of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the actuating mechanism with the front of the machine removed. Fig. 3 is a plan View of Fig. 2. Fig. t is a side elevation viewed from the right of Fig. 2 with the casing removed. Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views to Fig. 4 showing the mechanism in different positions. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the rising and falling liberating plate and its actuating mechanism. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the coin-freed mechanism. Fig. 9 is a perspective view. Fig. l0 a side elevation, and Fig. 11 a plan of the ratchet and pawl arrangement controlling the movements of the actuating handle.

A represents the trays which are arranged one above the other upon narrow steel plates o mounted on spindles a. Upon a spindle Z) are arranged two sprocket wheels b, b2, which bear, respectively, chains o, 52X, the said chains passing over sprocket wheels b3 mounted upon a spindle at the lower part of the apparatus. In a similar manner a spindle b4 nhas mounted thereon two sprocket wheels b5, be which receive chains X, and 126x. Mounted upon the spindle b is a pinion wheel o7 which is geared with a pinion o8 on the spindle ot, by means of two equal wheels 67X, bsx. The aforesaid spindles a are mounted upon the said chains, and the plates a are of such a character that they lie fiat upon the chains when the same have passed over the top sprocket wheels. A ratchet wheel B, mounted on the spindle b is adapted to be rotated step by step to give the necessary upward movement to the trays A. For this purpose a hook member B, vadapted to engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel B, is provided, which is attached to a pivoted lever B2 adapted to be rocked by mechanism attach-ed to the operating handle C as will be hereinafter described.

The liberating front plate C which protects the topmost tray from being tampered with is mounted to move vertically bythe engagement of` pins 0 slots formed in brackets c. The said plate C is provided with a depending lug C2 having a pin c2 engaging in a slot in a pivoted bar C3' which behind the top tray when the same is raised.

The said bar is provided with two brackets .df on which are mounted rollers cl2, corresponding rollers d3 being mounted on the bar' al', and the said rollers running upon a rod D". bar Z is a bent rod D2 having forked ends Dzxtoform a slot for the said bar to work in, the rod D2 being pivoted in brackets (Z4. One of the rods D2' has a projecting pin Z5 with which a hook d engagesA when the handleV C is4 actuated after the mechanism has been released by the inserted coin. hook d is pivoted to an arm d?, rigidly mounted ony a shaft ZS to which arm the operating handle C is connected by means of a crank CX. An arm D3 is also mounted on said shaft Z8,'and working in conjunction with the pivoted lever D4 serves as a safetyY device to prevent the mechanism operating until a coin has been inserted.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows :-The normal position of the parts is as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, with the top tray below the shelf F, and the liberating plate C in the raised or closed position. Movement of the handle C in the downward direction, that is in the direction of the dotted arrow in Fig. 4,. will rotate the shaft Z8 and displace the members D3 and Z7 mounted thereon; Attached to the lever all is va member FX which engages with the aforesaid pivoted lever B2 to rock the same and depress the hook member B, thus rotating the ratchet wheel B and the spindle b, and consequently elevating the trays A mounted on chains as aforesaid.y A pivoted pawl es prevents the backward movement `of the ratchet, and a tension spring e4 is at* 'tached to the chains and to the casing to partly counterbalance the weight of the trays and their contents. The said pawl e3 is provided with a projection 635 which bears against the hook member B", so that when 'the pawl is actuated by hand to disengage itfrom the teeth ofthe ratchet wheel B, the V member B is also disengaged and they chains can then be operated manually to allow fresh trays to be inserted.

. Thebperationof lifting the trays so that Engaging with the ends of the The 4the topmost is brought into line with the shelf F, is not under the control of the coin freed mechanism, and can therefore be performed either before or after the insertion of the coin. The stop f limits the movement of the handle C in the downward direction.

When the coin d10 is inserted in the chiite e it drops into the lower part of the casing E (Fig. 8) and bears against the spring controlled plunger Z111 The arm il7 has a pin d projecting therefrom, which works in a slot il9X formed in the said casing. The distance between this pin d and the coin im is such that the p-in reaches the coin before the member .D3 comes into contact with the shoulder ofv the pivoted lever D, so that the casing E is rocked about its pivot e thus displacing the arm e2 attached thereto, and rocking the said lever D'i about its pivot. This allows the handle C toy be further displaced, which causes the spring plunger d to be actuated by the pressure of the pin d on the coin- Z1, which then passes through the aperture' d10* into a suitable box or the like d. The member D3 is provided with a pin c4 which engages with a hook member c5 attached' by means of a lever c5* to a rod 0G upon which the aforesaid linger c3 is mounted'. Continued rotation of the handle C in the direction of the arrow (shown in full line in Fig. 4) causes the parts to assume the position shown in Fig. 5 in which the finger c3 is out of engagement with the lug 03X and the liberating plate C has fallen tov the open position'. The hook member d has now engaged with the pin i5 of the rod D2, and' further rotation ofthe handle C in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5, will cau-se the parts to assume the position shown in Fig. 6. The plate D has displaced the tray on to the shelf F and a pivoted finger fX fixed to the plate D prevents the tray from being removed. A spring controlled hook f" is now in engagement with the rod d and a hook f2 attached to the member 1' has engaged with a pin f3 on the aforesaid pivoted bar C3. As soon as the handle C is released it yreturns under the influence of the spring f4 to the position shown in4 Fig. 4. During this movement the pivoted lever Ca is depressed and the liberating plate C moved upward as before described. This causes the plate C to raise the hook f. At the same time the Aplate has come into contact with the linger. f* and has displaced the same, thus leaving the tray free to be removed froni the shelf F.

Mounted upon thel shaft Z3 is a wheel Gr which is formed with two sets of adjacent teeth g gf, extending overa part of the periphery, the said teeth being inclined in opposite directions. Engaging with the Said teeth is a spring controlled pawl t having aside projecting piece li. yAt the end of the toothed part g is an inclined portion gX which communicates with the teeth g. The pawl L is mounted upon a pin 7b2 in such a manner that the end thereof can be displaced laterally, a spring 7L* tending to keep it at right angles to the said pin h2 that is with the pawl engaging with the teeth g. The operation of this pawl and ratchet arrangement is as follows:-Assuming the partsto be in the position shown in Fig. t, the depression ot the handle to lift the trays, causes the pawl /L to engage in the recess gx, and thus acts in conjunction with the stop f, to prevent further movement. When the handle C is actuated in the reverse direction, the pavvl it rides upon the teeth g but prevents any backward movement et the actuating` handle. When the position shown in F ig. 6 is reached and the handle C is released, the pawl /z is displaced laterally by the inclined surface gx so that the teeth g are now in Contact with the said projection it of the pawl. The engagement of the said projection with the teeth g, eI"- t'ectively prevents the movement of the handle C in the reverse direction. When the plain portion of the ratchet wheel G ,comes beneath the pawl lz, the latter' under the influence of the spring 7L* moves laterally to its normal position upon the teeth g. This device thus insures the completion of the aforesaid cycle of operations being performed, after the movement of the handle C to open the liberating plate C has been etected.

rlhe machine may be formed with suitably arranged receptacles to contain ice in hot weather to keep the contents cool and fresh. Receptacles l may also be provided in which the luncheon trays together with such other utensils as may be necessary for the consumption of the viands may be placed by the purchaser after use, it being under stood that these receptacles are only provided ior sake of tidiness and not with the object of collecting the trays for future use over again. The glass plate H is provided as aforesaid so that the tray and its contents can be viewed before purchase.

The machine is replenished by opening the front of the machine and inserting fresh trays of toed upon the chains. A counting or recording device or the like may be arranged in conjunction with the said machine whereby the number of times the machine has been operated vcan be recorded, this device being preferably situated within the machine out of sight so that only the persons possessing the keys or other means of opening the machines will be able to gain access thereto.

lt desired the aforesaid glazed opening of the machines may be protected by bars ot metal or other means that will not inter ere with the inspection of the viands but with the casing,

which in the event of the glass H becoming broken will not permit the viands to be removed rom the machine without the insertion of the coin or coins.

lhat I claim and desii'e to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. ln a vending machine, the combination with a casing having a side opening, of a plate normally closing said opening, a vertical series ot trays, means for raising said trays to bring the topmost one to the plane of said opening,mechanism wit-hin the casing to shift said plate and project the topmost tray through said opening, the top oit' the casing being open to permit inspection of the contents of the topmost tray,-and for guarding said top opening to prevent removal of a tray through it.

2. In a vending machine, the combination with a casing having a side opening, of a plate normally closing said opening, opposing endless chains having projections, sprocketwheels over which said chains pass, a ratchet wheel connected with one of said sprocket wheels, a pawl in engagement with said ratchet wheel, means for actuating said pawl to rotate the sprocket wheels, trays removably supported on the projections of the chains, and mechanism within the cas-e to shift said plate and project the topmost tray through said opening.

3. In `a Vending machine, the combination with the casing, of an actuating handle, a series of superimposed trays, means whereby rotation of said handle in one direction causes the tra-ys to be elevated, and means whereby rotation of the handle in the reverse direction causes the topmost tray to be laterally displaced from the machine.

et. In a vending machine, the combination with the casing, of an actuating handle, a series of superimposed trays, a liberating plate controlling an opening` in the casing, means whereby rotation of said handle in one direction causes the trays to be elevated, and means whereby rotation of the handle in the reverse direction causes the liberating plate to be displaced and the topmost tray to be laterally displaced from the machine.

5. ln a vending machine, the combination with the casing, of an actuating handle, a series of superimposed trays, a liberating plate controlling an opening in the casing, means whereby rotation of said handle in one direction causes the trays to be elevated, means whereby rotation of the handle in the reverse direction causes the liberating plate to be displaced and the topmost tray to be laterally displaced from the machine, and means whereby the return movement of the said handle to the normal position causes the liberating plate to assume its closed position.

6. In a vending machine, the combination of an actuating handle, a

vplate controlling an open-ing -in the casing,

, one direction causes the trays to be elevated,

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

'ALBERT ROWDEN WETHERLY.

series of superimposed trays, a liberating means whereby rotation of said handle in means whereby rotation of the handle in the reverse direction causes the liberating plate to be displaced and the topmost tray to be laterally displaced from the machine, means whereby the return movement of the said handle to the normal position causes the liberatingV plate to assume its closed position lVitnesses:

T. SELBY WARDLE, WALTER J. SKERTEN,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioneroi Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

